IBJ invited a group of community leaders who have been involved in sports and economic development throughout the past 40 years to talk about the city’s sports strategy, how it developed and why it remains important. The panel includes Mark Miles, Allison Melangton, Susan Williams, John Thompson and Ryan Vaughn.
It’s taken thousands of Hoosier residents willing to put community first in order to take Indy’s success to the next level.
The organization said it is “closely monitoring” the pandemic and will continue evaluating the feasibility of some fan attendance at some of the games.
Indiana Sports Corp. President Ryan Vaughn talks to host Mason King about the proposal to turn the Indiana Convention Center into a collection of basketball courts and locker rooms as well as the group’s finances and plans as it prepares to host major events in the coming months.
Local officials are betting big on Indianapolis’ continued success as a sports city by submitting two dozen bids for championship-level events slated through 2030.
Team Indiana is meant to give its members—about three dozen tourism and sports organizations across Indiana—better access to resources that will get the attention of sports governing bodies that decide where to play events.
The money is expected to go a long way in funding three events on the city’s calendar: the NBA All-Star Weekend and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in 2021 and the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2022.
The games had been scheduled for Cincinnati, but the NCAA said the city needs time to complete renovations of its arena.
Visit Indy has held preliminary talks with the NFL about the city’s hosting the three-day event as soon as 2024.
With a big assist from the Indiana Sports Corp., Indianapolis has had quite a run, hosting more than 450 sporting events over four decades, including a Super Bowl, seven NCAA men’s basketball Final Fours and dozens of amateur world championships.
Local partners will include the Pacers, Colts and NCAA. But state officials declined to specify the contribution from Indiana’s Next Level Fund, a new state-backed venture pool with $250 million to invest.
The event, to be held at the newly renovated IU Natatorium, will determine the divers who will represent the United States at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Lucas Oil Stadium was “briefly considered” as the site of the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. But a desire to have the game in a more intimate facility led the league and team officials to choose the 18,165-seat Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host the game.
That compares to $30 million the Indianapolis business community contributed in cash and in-kind services to support the 2012 Super Bowl held at Lucas Oil Stadium.
At 138,800 square feet, it’s downtown’s 19th-largest office complex. But the building played a major role in the city’s efforts in becoming a sports town worthy of hosting a Super Bowl.
Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird on Monday delivered the city’s bid to host the 2021 NBA All-Star Game to NBA executives in New York City in a specially-themed IndyCar.
The NBA All-Star Game is broadcast to 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, according to NBA officials. In China alone, nearly 40 million people watch the game and another 10 million do so in Europe.
Local officials say Indianapolis should continue to host NCAA events despite rules adopted by the association on Wednesday to assure LGBT rights and protections.
In a sign of the city’s serious intent to host the game, Pacers President Rick Fuson will be accompanied by presidents and vice presidents of Visit Indy and the Indiana Sports Corp. as he travels to Toronto this week.
Indianapolis hasn’t hosted the NBA All-Star Game since 1985—when it was in the Hoosier Dome—something the league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, wants to change. But local officials haven’t pulled the trigger on a bid.
